GIC to pick preferred bidder in $1.1 bn Seoul landmark building sale

Singapore’s GIC Private Ltd., the world’s sixth-largest sovereign wealth fund, is set to select a preferred bidder for the sale of a landmark building valued at about 1.5 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in Seoul.

GIC and CBRE Group Inc., the manager of the sale of Seoul Finance Center (SFC), opened bidding for the commercial building in the South Korean capital’s central business district on Monday, according to investment banking industry sources.

Global real estate investment companies including BentallGreenOak (BGO), as well as local asset managers such as Koramco REITs Management and Trust Co. and its subsidiary Koramco Asset Management Co. joined the bidding, the sources in Seoul said. Koramco REITs and Koramco Asset participated in the bid using different funds.

GIC plans to pick a preferred bidder among them following individual interviews in the near term.

TO SELL LANDMARK BUILDING BOUGHT AFTER 1997-98 ASIAN CRISIS

BGO has invested in South Korean real estate such as office buildings in Seoul and Pangyo, the country’s so-called Silicon Valley.

The investment firm, which manages $85 billion in assets, has tendered for an office building in Gangnam, the upscale and modern center of Seoul.

GIC, with about $770 billion in assets under management, has been considering selling the 30-story SFC bought for 350 billion won in 2000 after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

The sovereign wealth fund has been a magnate in the South Korean real estate market for more than 20 years, owning other landmark offices such as Gangnam Finance Center.

Write to Byeong-Hwa Ryu at hwahwa@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.